In Re Griffiths

Decided June 25, 1973. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-1336 · 413 U.S. 717 (1973) · Cited 480 times

Holding

Connecticut's exclusion of aliens from the practice of law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of NM · 353 U.S. 232 (1957)
• Bradwell v. State · 83 U.S. 130 (1873)
• Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond · 401 U.S. 154 (1971)
• Ohio Ex Rel. Clarke v. Deckebach · 274 U.S. 392 (1927)
• Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Dunn v. Blumstein · 405 U.S. 330 (1972)
• Truax v. Raich · 239 U.S. 33 (1915)
• Ex Parte Garland · 71 U.S. 333 (1867)
• Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission · 334 U.S. 410 (1948)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• United States v. Carolene Products Co. · 304 U.S. 144 (1938)
• Konigsberg v. State Bar of Cal. · 366 U.S. 36 (1961)
• Bond v. Floyd · 385 U.S. 116 (1966)
• Zschernig v. Miller · 389 U.S. 429 (1968)
• Clark v. Allen · 331 U.S. 503 (1947)
• Cammer v. United States · 350 U.S. 399 (1956)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Foley v. Connelie · 435 U.S. 291 (1978)
• Supreme Court of NH v. Piper · 470 U.S. 274 (1985)
• Nyquist v. Mauclet · 432 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Ambach v. Norwick · 441 U.S. 68 (1979)
• Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong · 426 U.S. 88 (1976)
• Cabell v. Chavez-Salido · 454 U.S. 432 (1982)
• Examining Bd. of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores De Otero · 426 U.S. 572 (1976)
• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Toll v. Moreno · 458 U.S. 1 (1982)
• Bernal v. Fainter · 467 U.S. 216 (1984)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Demore v. Kim · 538 U.S. 510 (2003)
• Mathews v. Diaz · 426 U.S. 67 (1976)
• Trimble v. Gordon · 430 U.S. 762 (1977)
• Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co. · 414 U.S. 86 (1973)
• Hoover v. Ronwin · 466 U.S. 558 (1984)
• Ferri v. Ackerman · 444 U.S. 193 (1979)
• Douglas v. Seacoast Products, Inc. · 431 U.S. 265 (1977)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).